Cardtronics finds US consumers use more than one payment method

According to the study, 85% of consumers use at least two different types of payment methods each month and 55% use at least three. Cash is the most used form of payment in brick-and-mortar stores at 89% — compared with 74% for debit cards, 66% for credit cards, 18% for store mobile apps and 17% for mobile wallets.

The Health of Cash Study also found that 56% of consumers use cash as frequently as they did in 2015, and 23% are using it even more frequently. Millennials are using all the major payment methods more frequently than they did in 2015, except cheques. 67% of millennial digital payment users still use cash regularly, despite more payment methods being available today.

Cash dominates (79%) P2P payments in general, and in specific scenarios such as dining out with family or friends, in which case 55% of consumers (47% of millennials) still prefer to split the bill with cash despite the beginnings of a meaningful presence for non-bank and bank P2P payment apps (10%). In general, 80% of people use cash for smaller items and other forms of payment for larger, more expensive items. Specifically, 72% of people use cash for purchases under USD 10 and 54% use cash for purchases under USD 20.

At convenience stores, consumers are almost twice as likely to have used cash in comparison to credit in the past six months, and 33% are more likely to use cash than a debit card. When it comes to impulse buys, 75% of items such as candy and gum — frequent convenience store purchases — are made with cash. The study also found that 83% of consumers have concerns about data security and privacy, while 93% believe cash can keep them safe from hackers. In addition, nearly two-thirds of people feel nervous when they dont have cash on them, and 84% always try to keep cash on hand. Health of Cash Study respondents had an average of about USD 50 in their wallet.

In contrast, only 44% think credit cards or debit cards are safe, while 49% think a mobile wallet is safe. 59% said cash is safe while credit cards, debit cards and digital payments such as a mobile wallet drew 16%, 14% and 11%, respectively. 77% of consumers reported that cash helped them control their finances — and nearly half considered it the best option to do that. Among millennials, 71% leave their credit card at home when they go out to avoid overspending, and 70% dont like using credit cards because they dont like being in debt.

83% of respondents would miss cash if it went away and 85% believe cash will never go out of circulation. And while digital and mobile payment adoption is rising, a moderate pace of adoption indicates that consumers are complementing the use of cards and cash rather than replacing them large-scale.